


Beginning of Something Special

by Katsuko



Series: 750 Words to Say [4]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Dark Knight (2008)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Assassins & Hitmen, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-27
Updated: 2013-07-27
Packaged: 2017-12-21 12:00:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/900057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katsuko/pseuds/Katsuko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Do you always spring for Burger King after you've busted guys out of prison, Harley?"</p>
<p>"I don't usually bust guys out of prison, Mister J. I usually just kill the witnesses, too. Makes for easier clean up."</p>
<p>"But sometimes, messy is more fun."</p>
<p>Things turn oddly domestic for the clown and his new friend. Somehow it isn't that weird.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beginning of Something Special

The first thing that happened after Harlequin - or _Harley_ now, as the Joker seemed to enjoy calling her - busted her new best friend out of Arkham Asylum was a phone call to Alice Pleasance. The call was very short, just a simple exchange that the job was completed, that there were no complications, and that the very generous fee for the job was being wired to the assassin's offshore account at that very moment.

The second thing that happened was a quick stop through a fast food drive thru to pick up some dinner. Mainly because she was hungry, but partly because she didn't want to go back to home base just yet with a virtual stranger.

But the Joker, as she had stated in her own words, wasn't a threat to Harley. He hadn't made any verbal implications of harm to her while she was playing at being Dr. Helen Quincy, and he hadn't made any physical threats against her after the discovery that _she_ might be a viable threat to _his_ continued existence. If anything, he kept glancing over at her as they pulled out of the drive thru and started down the road with a bemused expression. As if he was trying to solve the puzzle of the woman he had thought she was and the woman he now knew her to be.

"Do you always spring for Burger King after you've busted guys out of prison, Harley?" he finally asked as she deemed it safe enough to take him back to base with her instead of just dumping him on the side of the road.

"I don't usually bust guys out of prison, Mister J," she replied. "I usually just kill the witnesses, too. Makes for easier clean up."

The Joker looked pleased with the nickname. "But sometimes, messy is more fun."

Harley didn't reply, just side-eyed him as she pulled into the underground garage and killed the ignition. She pointedly opened the door and reached into the back seat to grab her bags; he replied with an amused snort and grabbed the food before following her to the freight elevator. No words were spoken until they were on the top floor.

"Aren't abandoned warehouses a bit cliché for a hideout?"

"Good clichés are clichés for a reason," the assassin replied, pushing the doors open and strolling into her home base. The Joker grinned to himself - this woman was interesting - before following, glancing around at the open space. There were three or four whiteboards set up as partitions of a sort, all of them covered with diagrams and maps and dossiers on people who he knew for certain had been killed before he had decided to play a game of winner take all with the Batman. The guard whom Harley had shot not a full hour before was displayed prominently on one of the boards, and he watched as his new gal Friday walked over and crossed through his picture with a red marker so it matched the rest of her work.

"So," the man asked as he finally moved over to the small pub table off to one side and set down their dinner, "how do you even _find_ work anyway? People just call you on the phone and tell you they want someone dead?"

Harley looked over from the white board that had a woman displayed off-center, likely a future target. "I have an ad on craigslist," she deadpanned. Even though it was apparently meant to be a joke, he had the feeling that she was deathly serious about having advertised her services somewhere easily located by people desperate enough to want another person dead.

They didn't really talk much more until after dinner was finished and the trash had been thrown out, the Joker moving away from what was apparently Harley's "office" to further explore the terrain. He raised an eyebrow when he pushed open a door and discovered the bedroom, wondering absently just how she actually _slept_ in there with so much stuff thrown every which way. Then he noticed a pile of clothing in the corner that seemed to be breathing and turned to look back over where the woman was pulling down her old job notes to make room for new victims.

"Harley," he said carefully, "I think your pajamas are growling at me."

The woman carefully put her pile of papers down on the table and walked over to peer past the Joker. Her lips quirked in amusement as she replied, "I see you've found Baby."

At the name, the creature that had been hidden beneath the clothing shook itself free and bound across the bedroom to Harley. It _looked_ like some bizarre hybrid of a dog and a wolf with a little bit of hyena and sabertooth cat tossed in for good measure. The only sure thing was that it couldn't be strictly legal to own such an animal.

"Hi, Baby," the assassin crooned to the creature, not even needing to bend down to far to ruffle the ugly bastard's fur lovingly. "Did you miss Mommy? I bet you did."

The dog thing barked at her before turning its attention back to the Joker and started growling again. It stopped rather abruptly when Harley reached out to smack it on the nose.

"Don't be mean," she chided. "Mister J is our guest. Hold out your hand so he can learn you're supposed to be here," she added to the man, who could only shoot her another bemused look as he complied. The creature rumbled at him distrustfully before sniffing his offered hand then licking it once before retreating into the bedroom once again.

"So," the Joker said after a few minutes of silence in which Harley resumed her cleanup work and he resumed his exploration of the warehouse flat, "what are you planning to do next?"

The assassin glanced over at him briefly. "Sleep," she said. "In my own bed rather than at the apartment I was using at Helen Quincy. Maybe you can sleep there with me. Maybe we'll have sex, I don't tend to plan too far ahead in my every day life."

The man turned to look fully at his girl, crossing his arms and shooting her an amused look. "So you only make plans when you're working?" he verified.

"Yes, because poor planning is a good way to get an assassin caught or killed," she said. "Outside of work, I like to see where the world takes me."

The Joker studied her silently, waiting for her to finish clearing out old jobs and putting up information for the next one. The second she had posted the last diagram - this one of a high-end security system - he crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I think," he said, feeling strangely pleased with the turn of events that had led him to Arkham and into this woman's world, "that this could be the beginning of a mutually beneficial relationship."

**Author's Note:**

> And then the did sex. Afterwards they slept and woke up to find Baby sprawled across them both.


End file.
